- Fantasy
- Bone collection
- Ages 8–13
Bone: Companions
Part of the collectionBone→Best for readers who have finished the main Bone series and want to spend more time in the valley, folkloric tall tales and a painterly prequel.
- Books3 / 3
- Arcs1
- Span2010–2025
- StatusComplete
The series
At a glance.
Bone: Companions is the standalone-volumes strand of Jeff Smith's Bone universe. It collects three works that sit beside the main nine-book sequence rather than continuing it: the two Tall Tales volumes, in which the Bone cousins and Smiley share folkloric campfire stories about the valley's history, and Rose, a lyrical prequel about Gran'ma Ben as a young princess, illustrated by Charles Vess in a softer, more painterly style. The Companions are best read AFTER the main Bone series, they enrich the world's history, mythology and emotional backstory rather than introducing it. Tone varies: the Tall Tales are warm and funny in classic Bone register, while Rose is quieter, more mythic and slightly darker.
Best for readers who have finished the main Bone series and want to spend more time in the valley, folkloric tall tales and a painterly prequel.
Primary themes
Overall tone
- Funny
- Adventurous
- Warm
- Thought provoking
Read after the main Bone series. Tall Tales (2010) and More Tall Tales (2023) are story collections that work in either order. Rose works at any point but lands hardest after readers know Gran'ma Ben from the main series.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- IStandalone collection arcModerate sensitivity
Tales and origins of the valley
Three companion volumes that fill in the folklore, history and prequel mythology of the Bone valley.
This standalone collection gathers everything in the Bone universe that sits beside the main nine-book sequence. Tall Tales and More Tall Tales are folkloric short-story collections framed as campfire stories told by Smiley and the cousins, working at the warmer, funnier end of Bone's register while quietly seeding the world's deeper history. Rose, illustrated by Charles Vess in a softer, painterly style, is a prequel novel about Gran'ma Ben (Rose) as a young princess facing the early signs of the Lord of the Locusts. Together the three books reward readers who have finished the main Bone arc and want more of the valley's mythology, characters and emotional history. Sensitivity sits at moderate: comic peril and folkloric scares in the Tall Tales, slightly darker fantasy threat in Rose.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 8–13
- Read aloud · 8–12
- Independent · 8–13
Reluctant-reader friendliness
High
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Adult crossover
High
Grows with the reader
Not especially
Sensitivity envelope
Moderate overall, and consistent.
Content notes
- Violence
- Scary imagery
In the same universe
Sister series.
Bone is the core nine-volume graphic novel series by Jeff Smith, with companion books including Rose, Tall Tales and More Tall Tales sitting alongside the main …
Open series →SeriesBone: Quest for the SparkBone: Quest for the Spark is a three-book prose spin-off by Tom Sniegoski, created with Jeff Smith and set in the Bone universe. It follows new young heroes int…
Open series →Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
About the author